


A Message in a Bottle

by Hexxicoil



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Elves, F/M, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Wolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 15:35:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8061919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hexxicoil/pseuds/Hexxicoil
Summary: I got super bad writers block on my other Sebastian/Hawke story and I have been playing through the idea of having a modern AU of Inquisition so guess what happened.In other news I think this is super exciting because there can be television, and cell phones, and naughty texts once the time comes. Oh and still hints of magic. Fade magic. Stuff with the Veil. I love you guys thanks for sticking with me :D





	

**Author's Note:**

> I got super bad writers block on my other Sebastian/Hawke story and I have been playing through the idea of having a modern AU of Inquisition so guess what happened.
> 
> In other news I think this is super exciting because there can be television, and cell phones, and naughty texts once the time comes. 
> 
> Oh and still hints of magic. Fade magic. Stuff with the Veil. 
> 
> I love you guys thanks for sticking with me :D

"And so in conclusion I would like to take this opportunity to thank the board for their consideration and recommendation. I promise that I will not let you all down, and I think you all for this amazing opportunity, working with such amazing professors over the past two semesters has truly been an exhilarating and intellectual experience. Thank you all so much."

As Elora took her seat next to her Keeper she only then began to feel the rush of embarrassment, had she spoken too long? Too quickly? Was her speech rambling? Was anyone actually listening? Her elder took hold of her hand, Vol'eara was a kind women wise beyond her years with the wrinkles to prove it and yet this was the final attempt to bring their clan to the forefront. For many years the Lavellan clan had been shunned by the other Dalish, said to be the deserters of the northern lands, due to their many interactions with 'shemlens' between trade routes and did not disrespect the humans no matter what the others tried to bestow upon them. The Lavellan's strive to preserve their name and their culture for many years, yet they also embraced the growing age of technology and were considered to be more of the 'free thinkers' of the Dalish.

And yet, no matter how much she struggled in her youth to show the other Dalish that she was doing the best she could for the greater good for all Elvhen, she was a cast-away, a betrayer. Sure, on the outside she appeared as the others, the average human would be unable to tell her apart from another Elf from the Sabrae or Alerion clans. No, she was average height for who she was, standing tall at a whole five feet and a quarter inch, though she would argue it was two inches. Her hair was a darker almost strawberry blonde, with hints of a deep golden brown mixed at the roots, and it cascaded down to the middle of her back. Her ears were longer than most, curving slightly up towards the heavens as they poked their way out of the folds of her hair, which she usually wore wrapped in a braid towards the front of her body. She was petite, her small, lithe frame made most gasp if she ever tripped, giving the appearance that she may shatter when she touched the ground. In truth the poor girl only weighed just shy of ninety pounds, yet she could eat more than any one person she knew.

If not for the stray freckles upon her cheeks, one would think she were close to albino. The pale tone of her skin always causing the faint vallaslin upon her face stand out tenfold. It had been optional in her clan to recieve the markings once hitting adulthood, yet it was something she had her heart in since she had been a child. She had read all the stories of the Old Gods, knew their tales and knew exactly what they stood for, knew that once she infused her skin with the ink that her soul would be bound to the deity of her choice. Falon'Din. She remembers the look on her brothers faces when she announced whom she had chosen. She had chosen the grim reaper himself, the one who walked hand-in-hand with the souls as they made their eternal sleep, and she embraced it. Everything about the Veil enticed her, she spent years of her childhood learning just what it was and why it existed, wanted to physically be the first to reach out and touch it, to walk it's jagged earth in a physical sense. The others shunned her for her ideals, it would never happen and could never work. She set out, getting with different universities to learn and expand her knowledge of it. In fact it was the reason she was sitting in front of the circular room of dignitaries.

For the past five years, Elora had devoted her college career towards expanding her understanding of the Veil and hoped to get the ball rolling in terms of guided research. If there were actually forces within their world that held an afterlife she wanted to be the first to find it. There had been no documented record in all of Thedas which mentioned a time when the Veil did not exist, the old Chantry lines within Human history outlined the Veil itself as a working of the Maker, yet her studies shown it pre-dates man's history. If her thesis was approved by the council and acted upon then great things were to come. Even the children's stories from her past stated that the Veil held the key to immortality, so many things would come of her research. She hoped, by the Gods she hoped.

"Miss Lavellan," She recognized the woman who spoke before her, older in stature and in physicality, the shroud over her hairline to show her status. The Divine. "Collectively we must say that your efforts were admirable."

The sweat started first on the tip of her brow as the woman in the center of the Conclave spoke, followed by her right knee. It had to be the nerves, this was it, the moment of truth. To say her anxiety was under control would be a complete and utter lie, her right knee continued to bounce up and down rapidly as she held her right index finger in her left hand, squeezing tight.

"But I must admit that what you are asking of us at this time is something that we, as a whole, cannot bestow upon you. We lack the resources you seek to continue the research you have presented to us today. We must thank you for your time here with us today but it is with a heavy heart that we must decline and dismiss your arguments."

* * *

 

Elora wasn't sure how she got to this point, IV tapped securely to her left forearm as the sirens of the ambulance echoed within her head. She was secured, safely, to the stretcher within the moving transport vehicle as the EMT's worked towards getting her eyes to focus on the blinding light above her. _Where am I?_ Her head was spinning as her eyes slowly adjusted, following the light as another figured pressed the stethoscope to her chest. Breathe in. Good. Breathe out. Good.

Everything hurt; her arms, her back, her ribs, and the ringing in her ears was not going away seeming to only be amplified by the sirens as the group was propelled upwards over a tear in the road. A blonde haired man peered over her, surgical mask over his face as he looked her body over before he attempted to speak. "Do you know where you are?" She shook her head. 'No.' "Do you remember your name?" As she tried to nod her head in agreement she realized that her neck was fastened as well, causing a great deal of discomfort as she tried to signal the man. Doctor? Nurse? EMT-guy?

As she tried to open her mouth to speak she realized that her teeth were chattering with the feel on the air upon her lips. The man looked down at her with golden eyes, full of concern, as he looked up towards the second figure behind her head. He nodded in the direction of the second person before he reached out to grab an already filled syringe. Elora's emerald eyes widened as he slowly lowered it towards the exposed arm. The pinch of it breaking skin causing her eyes to snap shut as a muted whimper escaped her throat.

"It's going to be alright, Da'lan." A woman spoke, her Elvhen must more clearer than her own, as she felt the soft, gentle touch of a woman's hand against her forehead. It was soothing to feel the cool touch against her as the man above her slowly worked the liquid into her vein. Suddenly and swiftly she could feel her whole body run cold, yet it was a welcoming sensation, relaxing almost. Her eye lids slowly closed, resting peacefully as the sounds of the chaos around her began to slowly fade away to silence.

* * *

 

The world around her was dark, dank, and damp and there was a strange tint of green all around her. It was cold, or perhaps she herself was cold, as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. Surveying her surroundings she knew that this wasn't he Conclave, this wasn't the ambulance, this place was foregin to her and yet familiar to her all the same. She was not afraid as her eyes scanned the landscape, the greenish mist tinting everything in a haze of putrid sorrow as she willed her feet to carry her away from the spot her body had just laid. It was silent here, for the most part, as she looked for landmarks. A dead tree off in the distance, the ruins of a temple long forgotten covered in overgrown moss and vines, and the sound of a stream not too far by. The sky was black at first as she followed the sounds of the stream, the haze of a morning sky overhead as the clouds began to glow an eerie mixture of gray and green. By the time she reached the source of the sound she realized that this was no ordinary dream. The stream was rushing above her head, upside down to where she stood and shown no signs of falling upon her as she followed it up the mountains path.

"Hello?!" She called, hearing the word echo within itself as she continued to move upwards towards the peak of the hill in which she climbed.

She could hear the padding of an animal, almost as if it were directly behind her, as she turned to look only to be welcomed by emptiness. The higher she climbed the lighter the sky became, the more oddities stood out to her. Besides the stream that flowed overhead, there had been many other structures that levitated above her and flipped as if another world carried on just under her head. Once again the padding of paws drew her attention, snapping her in the direction of a ruin floating peacefully, untouched.

She strained her eyes as she looked towards the source of the noise. "Is anyone there?" She called, another much softer echo reflecting her words this time and the strange sound of almost a whimper laced within her words. Elora placed her hand on the crumbling stone of a statue which long sat forgotten as she tried to look across the floating isle, a figure almost hiding between the pillars, casting a silhouette which proved she was not alone. And yet as her eyes strained for clarification she noticed it was much smaller than a person's figure should have been. Fur. Black fur. And eyes, too many eyes, red eyes. Six.

"Is she awake?"

The voice was unfamiliar to her as she blinked her eyes, the blinding white light of the hospital room stinging her back to reality as she slowly stood to meet the voice. It was a woman, from what she could hear at least, with a very faint yet direct voice and the hint of an Orleasian accent.

"If she is we need to take her in for questioning, this matter cannot wait any longer."

A second woman, much more brash and demanding, a detective perhaps? She sounded powerful and forceful, and a part of Elora wished she didn't try to sit up when she had. Her movements in the bed catching the attention of both women as they quickly turned to face her. As the blur around her eyes slowly faded she was able to see just who was before her. The first, the harsher sounding woman it would seem, approached her injured body. The woman wore her hair short and almost slicked back with a small braid laced through her crown, her eyes bright yet a harsh walnut hazel peering into her soft emerald ones. A scar on the woman's left cheek creating a tattered and rough look towards the woman's exterior.

"I need answers, Leliana." She turned her head to face the other woman, Elora noticed that the other woman was a bit softer yet held something secret about her as she stood there at the foot of the bed, arms crossed. Her ginger hair swept across one eye as she peered over at her companion. The rougher woman looked back down at Elora's injured body before speaking again, her tone much more serious than before. "The Conclave has been destroyed, everyone who attended is now dead. Except you."

The woman's eyes leered as she looked at Elora, the poor girl pressed herself further down into the mattress as the woman stood back up, hands behind her back and held tight as she began to pace. Elora remained silent as she watched the woman walk slowly from one edge of the bed to the other.

"Do you remember what happened at all?" The other woman, Leliana was her name perhaps, began. "How this may have started?"

Elora looked down at her hands, bandaged, and allowed her eyes to follow the trail of the IV up to the bad that held her fluids before she dared to look at the woman again. It took a lot for the words to come to her, but before she could answer their questions she had many of her own.

"What happened?" her voice was horse, strained even as she watched the two women look quizzically at the other. The red haired woman walked towards the television positioned at the edge of the room, flipping it on, before the harsher woman spoke once more.

"It, will be easier to show you."


End file.
